There was a time when the Gameloft was the best Mobile game company, produced the best offline games and brought the most exciting adventures for those who like to play on their cell phones.
It is precisely about this time that we are going to talk today. You Best Offline Games for Android by Gameloft.
Today is nostalgia day.
Table of Contents
- – The best mobile games of yesteryear
- 1. Sacred Odyssey
- 2. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises
- 3. New 2
- 4. Backstab
- 5. Modern Combat 1 e 2
- 6. Eternal Legacy
- 7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard
- 8. Splinter Cell Conviction
- 9. The Adventures of Tintin
- 10. Assassin’s Creed – Altair’s Chronicles
- 11. Wild Blood
- 12. Brothers In Arms 2: Global Front
- 13. Gangstar Miami Vindication
- 14. Spiderman 1 e 2
- 15. Spiderman Total Mayhem
- 16. Dungeon Hunter 1 to 2
- 17. Avatar
- 18. Hero of Sparta
- 19mm
- 20. Shadow Guardian
- 21. Shrek Kart
- 22. Asphalt 5
- - Conclusion
Video content:
– The best mobile games of yesteryear
Anyone who started playing on mobile because of the Free Fire phenomenon or other Battle Royales probably didn't know a time when we had games with incredible stories on mobile.
From 2009 to 2014, Gameloft produced the majority of offline games for Android with that “good game to beat".
And they were really good games. That kind of game with a story in Spanish and that makes you want to get to the end to find out what will happen.
When making the transition from the Java / Symbian Era to Android and iOS, Gameloft knew how to bring that feeling of having a portable console in your hands.
Unfortunately, that feeling has been lost over time, and today, premium quality games are pretty rare on mobile.
You've probably played these games "alternatively", but here's the warning, we won't post download links for the APKs.
And if you're interested in downloading any of these games, I'll warn you, many of them run with bugs in graphics and audio on Android 9 and 10. So believe me, it's not just nostalgia, the games actually ran better in the past.
1. Sacred Odyssey
A game unknown to many people who started playing from 2017 onwards.
A real hidden gem under lock and key on the APK sites of life.
Nicknamed by many as “The Zelda of Gameloft”. This game is a magnificent adventure that shows how the company knew how to be inspired without copying.
The game is so good that it doesn't even look like it's from 2011. A time when many people didn't even have a decent Android smartphone.
Sacred Odyssey has aged very well and delivers a great “hero's journey”. You will control Ayden, an unassuming young farmer who discovers he is a paladin.
He will help a princess and an ancient tree in the fight against evil forces. The game's story is kind of cliché, but the dialogue is super funny, with the game making jokes about heroism, poop, etc.
But the real highlight is on account of some very well-crafted puzzles.
For example, the ice phase, which has a mirror puzzle that if you don't do it in the right order, you'll waste a few minutes trying to find the right refraction again.
Sacred Odyssey is the right stop for anyone looking for a good mobile adventure. Even after so long since its release, it still makes a lot of fun.
Simple commands, fun dialogs, accessible gameplay and best of all, zero in-app purchases or ads.
There's a review of this game on the site, And yes, we reviewed the game at the time it came out.
Gameloft should urgently think about remastering Sacred Odyssey. One of the best offline Android games.
2. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises
And what about The Dark Knight Rises then? The Batman movie game: Dark Knights Rises is also in the pantheon of best offline games of all time.
Again, at a time when not everyone had a good cell phone, The Dark Knight Rises arrived with excellent graphics, a great story, all in Spanish and an entire city to explore.
In this decaying Gotham, the player will control the dark knight in his latest adventure. The main objective is to defeat the villain Bane. But the story of the game is different from that of the movie.
Released in 2012, The Batman Game still impresses today. The graphics are still very beautiful and the gameplay, then, gives a beating to many sandbox games of the same genre.
The freedom to walk around the scenario and look for missions is a highlight of the game. In addition to being able to glide like a morsegão, you'll be able to control cool toys like the Moto and even the Batmobile.
The game was on Google Play for a long time, from 2012 to 2016. But Gameloft pulled it from the app stores as soon as the partnership agreement with Warner expired.
That's it, right guys, the partnership ends and they have to withdraw the game. The same happened with the games from other movies.
3. New 2
Until recently, NOVA 3 was available on Google Play. I don't understand why the producer left only the first game of the franchise there in the store.
But finding NOVA 3 compatible with your Android smartphone is easy.
It's really hard to find NOVA 2 compatible. But he exists.
It is still possible to play the entire trilogy of Kal Wardin and check out the entire odyssey of this super space soldier.
This 2010 classic brings our marine from the galaxies into a new battle on a distant planet.
The inspiration for Halo is kind of obvious, but NOVA has always kept its spice with an almost perfect dosage of not-so-long scenarios and just the right amount of difficulty.
There are rare moments when NOVA 2 feels uncreative. One of the best examples of how Gameloft knew how to make a shooter campaign on mobile.
4. Backstab
I usually say that Gameloft read Ubisoft's mind and then copied Assassin's Creed 4 Blackfag.
This is the only way to explain where the company came from with the idea of making Backstab.
The game is a pseudo-clone of Assassin's Creed, as it has a good part of Blackfag's DNA.
But of course we need to remember that this is a 2011 mobile game.
Still, it's another game that has aged very well.
In Backstab, you control Henry Blake, a man who works for the British navy. Someone sabotages the British ships and Blake takes the blame. Sentenced to death, he manages to escape and now wants revenge. The game has Spanish subtitles and the English dubbing is very good.
When it was released, Backstab was very heavy and barely ran on the intermediates and some tops of the time. But nowadays, the game runs well even on the most basic mobile.
And is this adventure worth revisiting? It's so worth it.
A great game that Gameloft was inspired by its sister was so hyped that it became a temporary exclusive to the Sony Xperia Play.
At the time we reviewed the game, it got an average rating because of the huge amount of bugs that were there at launch, but over time, the game has improved a lot.
5. Modern Combat 1 e 2
Nowadays it is very easy to imagine what the commands of a First Person Shooter would be like on mobile.
But catch the vision there in 2009? Big companies like Konami and Activision, for example, didn't really know how to adapt a game of the genre on mobile.
Who came up with this idea that, on the right side of the screen, you control the camera, it was Gameloft.
The control that seems so natural today came with Modern Combat Sandstorm.
Dubbed "Gameloft's Call of Duty", the Modern Combat series has always had its own identity, as it didn't copy the design of the characters, it just drew inspiration from the shooter genre.
The first game in the franchise arrived on iOS in 2009 and in 2010 on Android, inaugurating the producer's “Games HD” label.
In this first incursion to the Middle East, you must capture a terrorist. There are 10 missions full of adrenaline.
The second game, Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, lets you control two characters at different times in the story.
The design of the stages suffers from the repetition of missions like “go from point A to point B”. But even so, it still far outperforms any free game and paid shooters from other developers.
By the way, there's something that Gameloft has always been able to do better than most people: deliver a good offline shooter on mobile.
But despite being good, the best of the Modern Combat franchise was still to come with Fallen Nation and Zero Hour. If you don't already have these two games on Google Play, get them before they leave the store.
6. Eternal Legacy
You can already see that Gameloft had a real cultural effervescence around the years 2010 and 2012, right?
Released in 2011, Eternal Legacy is an offline RPG with elements reminiscent of Final Fantasy 7. This is more evident in comparison to the remake of the Square Enix classic.
However, Eternal Legacy had a bizarre history, many bugs and even typos in the translation. Our reception to Eternal Legacy couldn't have been worse. At the time, we considered it one of Gameloft's worst games so far.
So why is it on Gameloft's list of best old offline games?
Simple, analyzing the cheap or free offline RPGs for 9 years now, it's clear that the Eternal Legacy had its value.
After all, any quality RPG on mobile either costs a fortune or is 100% in English.
The production and overall quality of Eternal Legacy is low, but you'll get up to 7 hours of gameplay in a linear game with Spanish translation. So much for the experience.
7. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard
With the controversy of Area F2, which at the time of publishing this video, was wiped off the map! you might even have guessed that there was never a Rainbow Six for mobile.
But it did. Gameloft released in 2011 in partnership with Ubisoft, Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard
The game was clearly an adaptation of the Modern Combat engine and added some classic mechanics from the Rainbow Six franchise. How to use probes to check a room before breaking in.
However, the gameplay is a little limited and the game was not very pleased at its launch. To make the game look even lower, it was full of bugs.
Shadow Vanguard was released as a timed exclusive to Xperia Play. Just like BackStab.
8. Splinter Cell Conviction
The Splinter Cell franchise has always been successful on mobile. Since the days of common cell phones with Java, Gameloft and Ubisoft released simple but very fun games.
When it came time to appear in Android Splinter Cell, it came as an adaptation of Splinter Cell Conviction.
However, the game doesn't even come close to the Xbox 360 and PC versions.
With very bad character models and some bugs, Splinter Cell Conviction disappointed in its release.
The gameplay and commands resemble that of Shadow Guardian, which perhaps indicates that they used the same engine to create the game.
In the end, the impression is that Splinter Cell Conviction Mobile was uncharacterized, as the stealth elements, the core of the franchise, were reduced to a few moments of gameplay.
9. The Adventures of Tintin
Based on the 2011 film by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, Tintin impresses with its looks. At the time, smartphones barely had the ability to run the game, but all the assets to play in FullHD were there.
This was a time when movie games were really happening. And Tintin impresses as one of the best movie-based mobile games of all time, if not the best.
The 3D game is action and evolves the solution of puzzle and exploration of environments. There are also some moments of combat, but don't expect any advanced firefights.
The Adventures of Tintin varies its gameplay a lot. The game delivers an experience that lasts around 4 hours and captivates with charismatic characters and good voice acting.
It was one of the first games of the time that impresses by occupying about 1.5 GB of smartphone data.
There is a review of the game on the site. Take a look there.
10. Assassin’s Creed – Altair’s Chronicles
You know that feeling of games from the past generation to the current one? If you are a console gamer, you may have already noticed this in some titles.
This was precisely the case with Assassin's Creed – Altair's Chronicles.
Developed for Symbian and N-Gage and Nintendo DS in 2008, this Android game only arrived there around 2011.
Gameplay is quite limited. The scenarios are small and the missions very linear. No open world.
At that time, open world games were not a reality on mobile phones. Android smartphones had a maximum of 512 MB of RAM. Having 8GB of internal space was a luxury.
The year is 1190 AD, during the Third Crusade, the Templars clash with the Saracens for control of the Holy City, Jerusalem.
Altair is tasked with retrieving the Chalice. He is said to have the power to unite all factions and end the Third Crusade in victory for the side that owns him.
However, the chalice is very powerful and as a human being does not know how to deal with power, it is best to destroy it.
Despite being limited, both visually and in terms of gameplay, Altair's Chronicles still calls attention for being a consistent adventure, without detours and without trying to put your hand in your pocket. Very different from the online, buggy and confusing Assassin's Creed Identity.
11. Wild Blood
Wild Blood is another good example, which can still be found on Google Play, of how Gameloft needs to review its concepts regarding offline games.
An action game is excellent, with very good combats and even a nice one.
Thinking he took "gaia", King Arthur goes crazy, joins a witch and imprisons or kills Guinevere, I don't remember right.
Upon arriving from a battle in a distant kingdom, Lancelot will take a beating on whoever appears in front of him to recover his beloved Guinevere.
All of this, of course, is a backdrop for Gameloft to deliver one of the best games it has ever made. The game may have been bombed in some reviews, but if you're looking for something in the God of War style, to play natively on Android, the answer will still be Wild Blood.
We've talked a lot about this game in other videos here on the Channel. He's even the star of our top 25 free-to-play games on Android. Check it out there.
12. Brothers In Arms 2: Global Front
Brothers In Arms 2: Global Front for Android and iOS is the direct sequel to Earned In Blood 3D which was released for Symbian.
When this game appeared on Android, it was when gamers were really sure that the mobile game market was in the process of frank transformation.
Games with large 3d scenery were impossible on Symbian, but on Android and iOS the possibilities seemed endless.
Launched in 2010, the game had two versions, a Free with ads and a paid one.
Despite being linear and with half-locked commands, Global Front brings first-rate audio and frantic combat. The challenges are varied, with the intention of showing the violence and chaos of the second world war.
13. Gangstar Miami Vindication
Yes, we know that Gangstar: West Coast Hustle was Gameloft's first "GTA" and that Gangstar Rio is the best and most hilarious game in the franchise, but Miami Vindication is also worth mentioning.
This little-remembered episode of the Gangstar franchise is short, but just as crazy and fun.
The soft life Johnny goes to the city of Miami to take his younger brother out of the world of drugs. For this, he will spare no efforts and will put lead on whoever appears in front of him.
But the adventure starts in the most brazen way possible, with a street legend living in a swamp in the center of the city and his first mission is to kill some crocodiles.
The game is full of missions (more than 70) in addition to extra missions such as ambulance, fast food delivery, boards to collect and other things.
The graphics aren't very pretty and the town is relatively small. But remember, when this game came out, most phones didn't even have 1GB of RAM.
It's really worth knowing this crazy GTA / Saint Row by Gameloft. There is a review of the game on the site. And yes, we analyzed it at the time he left.
14. Spiderman 1 e 2
No use crying, there was plenty of time to buy The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 on Google Play. Gameloft's open world games with the Scratchy were removed in early 2019.
They are two absurd games with quality far above average and that on newer devices are even more impressive.
Like several other games on the List, by the time Spiderman 1 and 2 came out, these games were pretty heavy. Cell phones had a hard time rendering a decent draw distance.
But nowadays, any potato runs The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2.
The games are based on the Spidey movies with actor Andrew Garfield. These games for Android and iOS seem to have been more successful than the movie.
They stayed a long time on Google Play. Much more than other movie games. But the contract ended and unfortunately they were removed. However, whoever bought them can still download them from Google Play. But they will only appear for those who bought it.
15. Spiderman Total Mayhem
Released in 2010, the game developed by Gameloft is set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. The look is more cartoony, different from The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2. Very colorful graphics and lots of action.
Total Mayhem is not open world, but it guarantees a lot of fun with a story in Spanish.
Basically, you just roam around the scenarios defeating villains and using Quick time events to escape explosions and things the bosses throw at you.
And the name Total Mayhem is not for nothing. There are 12 stages with several classic enemies such as Rino, Venom, Electro, Green Goblin and many others.
A great game to pick up and beat in one stroke.
16. Dungeon Hunter 1 to 2
There's something magical about walking through dark dungeons. Since Diablo, many players have been fixated on the thrill, danger, and mysticism of being in deep, monster-filled places.
Knowing this, Gameloft launched the Dungeon Hunter franchise back in 2009.
Again, taking inspiration without copying, the company delivers two of the best mobile adventures of all time. Dungeon Hunter 1 is 2.
The two games later came to Android, but they proved what they came for. It's about 20 hours long to master everything.
You can control classes like Warrior, Rogue and Mage. But in 2, it was possible to party online with other players and face the challenges of the game, which naturally became easier.
In Dungeon Hunter 2, you are one of the sons of the immortal king. Survive a war, break out of prison and travel across your kingdom to save everyone and everything.
Good times when the producer knew how to make games that pleased both those who wanted to play online and those who wanted to play offline.
17. Avatar
Released in 2009 along with the movie, the Avatar game for Android was in English only, but it was a fun adventure to play.
The game's story actually takes place twenty years before the events of the movie.
In command of Ryan, a Marine who will experience a “second life” as a Na'vi alien. He is the first person to use an Avatar.
The look is dated, but the color palette is very pretty, which makes the game attractive even today.
There are moments of combat on the ground, with the character himself or with the Banshee Dragon.
A good 3D platform game that got lost over time. There are 15 stages in total.
18. Hero of Sparta
Created from the ground up to be Gameloft's "God of War", Hero of Sparta is a story-driven 3D action game set in ancient Rome. With the same Greek mythology that drew so much attention in the Sony franchise.
Of course, this Gameloft classic is uninspired. The game was also released on the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.
There are 8 action-packed stages with lots of enemies and bosses inspired by the already talked about Greek mythology.
One of the points that most reminds me of God of War are the “Focus Kills”, a symbol that lights up on enemies and allows for a submission. Of course I couldn't fantasize the classic QTEs either.
The story revolves around the Spartan king Argos, when he wakes up on the beach shortly after his entire fleet of ships has been destroyed by a violent storm.
While exploring the island, the spirit of an oracle apparently held captive asks Argos to rescue her. In return, the oracle offers to use its power to return Argos to his homeland. Remember Homer's Odyssey? So it is.
19mm
There's no hiding it, just a gameplay image and it's already clear that 9mm (nine millimeters) is inspired by Max Payne.
In command of John “Perdido Bullet” Kannon, the player must end a drug trafficking cartel that dominates a city.
The game is very violent and full of profanity.
The “Bullet Time” effect is very cool and well adapted to touchscreens. The audio is also interesting and shows how Gameloft wanted to give the game a different treatment.
The only downside is the graphics. Visually dated, 9mm has very strange character models. Characters "work" when viewed from afar, but during cutscenes, prepare for the freak show.
9mm was a complete disaster on its release. A game that only worked properly on Apple's top-of-the-line devices. But over the years, you can now play this game offline on any Android phone.
20. Shadow Guardian
And what about Shadow Guardian? If 9mm was a big "sniff" in Max Payne's world, Shadow Guardian was easily confused with Uncharted.
You know the worst of it, the stuff worked really well. Interestingly, Gameloft was inspired by the Naughty Dogs formula and made a good game!
Shadow Guardian is still a fun and addictive game.
Jason Call is an Indiana Jones-style treasure hunter. Our hero is trapped in a laboratory with Novik, a kind of terrorist who wants to extract the location of the raw material from his brain. Because of that, a lot of what we play is actually Jason's memories.
It's really a shame Gameloft didn't create a sequel. Because Shadow Guardian is one of Gameloft's best games to date.
21. Shrek Kart
You must be thinking: Gameloft just needed to create a Mario Kart, right? Bad Rap! Here he is!
In 2009, Gameloft released Shrek Kart on iOS. The Android version, as usual, only came out in 2010.
At that time Gameloft had a certain prestige with movie studios. A Shrek Kart not only made sense, it turned out really good.
The scheme was the same. Various characters, power-ups, and fun races.
Yes, there were other Shrek Kart games for other platforms, but Gameloft, as always didn't want to beat around the bush, put Shrek Kart in the title and it's ready!
At the time, there was only Crash Nitro Kart of a similar game on mobile, and Shrek Kart did very well.
22. Asphalt 5
Finally, the most iconic game that launched the company to stardom back in 2002. The Asphalt franchise has always been highly acclaimed, since the first games back in the time of Java mobile phones.
But when the first images of Asphalt 5 appeared, back in 2009, everyone's jaw dropped. The game was impressive by the standards of the time and revealed what was to come.
Realistic cars, antialiasing, realistic shadows and a fluidity that was rarely seen in games at the time.
Asphalt 5 only arrived in 2010 with the HD Games initiative.
The game paved the way for several titles in the franchise that is still successful today with the impressive Asphalt Legends.
It is clear that this franchise has always been a pioneer.
And here we come to the end of the video with a conclusion. It would be very easy for Gameloft to remaster some of these titles and release them on Google Play or their own app store, Washop.
Hey, I know many are the result of partnership with movie studios, but the ones here that are appearing in the video right now are IPs owned by Gameloft.
- Conclusion
And here ends our article, as you can see, Gameloft's offline games was an important chapter in the history of mobile games. The company was literally the entire mobile game market there from 2009 to 2012. Nowadays the company has lost its relevance, but it will forever be etched in the memory of gamers.
[originally published October 28, 2020]
